Tag Archives: scallions

Aight, Imma be straight wichu: this has been in my backlog for months. And it’s not because I don’t think it’s good.

ieatmostlymeat.com

I actually can’t remember anything The Chef has cooked for me that wasn’t awesome… barring one incident with some enchiladas. And that was a disaster mostly because I was hopping around the kitchen on one leg with a large knife and we were too tired to be cooking anything more than frozen chicken nuggets. (And we actually forgot to turn the oven on when we tried to cook those, so that kind of indicates what level we were on that day.)

Anyway, I’ve been less than anxious to post this only because it’s not in my comfort zone, meaning it is not soup or pasta or a dip made with cream cheese.

But you know what? That’s exactly why it needs posting. This dish actually has some nutritional value and is pretty tasty when you sauce it up all Asian-like. And it’s downright different. So Free Yo Mind, y’all. The rest will follow.

Like this:

We cooked this on one of our last dinner parties at our apartment in NYC. It was amazing. We made a huge pot of it, and I am pretty sure there were no leftovers. People were stuffing their face and going for third helpings. Chef John and I love “My New Orleans” cookbook. Other then the obvious fact that his recipe’s are amazing, I also love this cookbook because John Besh describes the cooking process and why it is important to do certain things while you are cooking. -ts

Chef John says: If you don’t have John Besh’s book, “My New Orleans,” than you need to have your head examined, go buy it. In my opinion, he’s easily one of the most talented and innovative chefs out there and best of all he likes to use pork… a lot. I’m trying to eat my way through his book at the moment but wanted to share with you his Jambalaya recipe. Prior to this, I’ve never tried to make it on my own and I was really surprised by how easy it was. This is one of my favorite comfort foods and provides a great base for a long night out.

First, you’ll need to heat a very large pot 3-5 gallons) over high heat until it is hot, then reduce the heat to moderate. This will allow the heat to be uniform all over, preventing those little hot spots that are likely to burn.

Render the bacon with the sausages and the lard in the hot pot, stirring slowly with a long wooden spoon or a spade. While the pork is rendering, go ahead and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot, stirring, and cook until the chicken becomes golden brown, about 5 minutes.

After the chicken as browned, add the onions to the pot and all them to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the bell peppers, celery, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Continue stirring from time to time so that everything in the pot cooks evenly.

Next add the rice, thyme, bay leaves, pimention, cayenne, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoons black pepper, and the celery salt to the pot and cook, stirring often for 3 minutes.

Increase the heat to high and add the tomatoes and chicken stock to the pot, Bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat do medium low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking in the covered pot, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and save them, along with the green onions, to be added at the last minutes.

After the rice as simmered for 15 minutes, go ahead and remove the lid from the pot and fold int he shrimp and green onions. Turn off the heat and let everything continue to to cook in the hot covered pot for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the jambalaya and serve.

It’s Monday, and due to the fact that I spent the better part of my Sunday sitting in traffic on I-40, all I want to do today is watch Netflix and play on Facebook as I normally would on Sunday. Unfortunately I have this stupid job thingy that’s totally ruining my plans.

So I’m giving my brain a break and posting something simple and fresh that I wish I’d had for lunch instead of the cold chicken fingers I actually ate. The Chef served this vinaigrette over roasted shrooms and carrots, and I must say between this and the baby carrot recipe, he’s actively proving that they aren’t just lame ranch-covered OM-related snacks from my childhood.

The Chef says this also works well as a marinade for lamb or beef. I cannot, however, vouch for lamb yet as that is one of the foods he has yet to make for me in an attempt to prove that it doesn’t, in fact, taste like dirt and barnyard like I think it does. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

This is a super simple breakfast potato recipe. I don’t really have measurements because this is all by taste and what I have in the fridge or pantry. It takes no time at all, incredibly easy and is the perfect hangover cure. I highly recommend topping with an egg over easy and using lots of hot sauce. – ts

Boil water, and then boil potatoes for about 8-10 minutes or until tender

Drain and let cool while you chop the bell pepper, onions, and garlic

Heat pan with olive oil, and then add garlic. Let cook about 45 seconds or 1 minute, until fragrant. Add peppers and onions and sauté for a few minutes. Season the veggies with salt and pepper.

While peppers and onions cook, slice potatoes up to about ½ inch slices. Add potatoes to pan along with all seasonings. Cook for about 20 minutes. Top with fresh scallions. Serve hot with hot sauce and fried egg over easy.

This recipe uses a scotch bonnet, and, if you think about the name of that pepper literally (i.e. a small older Scottish woman dressed like Miss Muffet), I think we can all agree it’s cute as crap. Also, reading the list of spices literally made my mouth water, so it’s probably good as crap too.

The Chef’s Spicy Southwestern Slaw looks amazing, and I will need to try it out. I thought I would offer up another non mayo slathered alternative to slaw as well. Mine is more vinegar based, and the key ingredient being Rice Wine Vinegar. You should be able to find that at any grocery, not just your local ethnic pet store. All of this is to taste, and there are a ton of optional ingredients to add. I use this as a side to Chef John’s pulled pork. Recipe coming soon! -ts

Because I always jump when Harmon asks me to, here is a very good, very basic chicken salad recipe. This is the one that Emily thought was so good she ate it out of the cooler the morning after Pat Benatar… after all the ice had melted. It’s 90+ degrees in Memphis in July if you’ll recall, so it must have been pretty darn good for her to risk her health and self-respect just to have a second helping.